Lu Xi'an returned to find Yao Wei had already pulled that woman out of the low mound and, in passing, turned her into a human stick.

The woman's long legs and arms were neatly arranged on one side, placed parallel with the body, looking as if they were meant for display.

Lu Xi'an glanced at Yao Wei; she looked unperturbed, as if she had done something entirely ordinary.

Truly worthy of being Yao Wei!

Lu Xi'an admired silently and asked, "Why didn't you kill her?"

Yao Wei replied, "I was afraid you had questions for her."

Lu Xi'an looked at the human stick woman and said, "That's right, there are questions that need asking."

But the woman, now turned into a human stick, lay on the ground, staring at the sky, with eyes devoid of life—who knew if she was in the mood to answer questions?

Lu Xi'an squatted down and asked, "You're from Jiangbei, aren't you? Why target us? What do you want to do? Aside from you three, are there other Neo-Humans?"

He asked four questions in one breath, yet the woman seemed not to hear any, continuing to look blankly at the azure sky.

Lu Xi'an sighed and said, "If you answer me, I'll let you die quickly."

The woman finally showed some reaction, returning to her senses, and glanced at Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

But soon she withdrew her gaze, continuing to stare lethargically at the sky, as if her spirit had been plucked by the infinite void.

Lu Xi'an sighed, pulled out the Blade, and said, "Forget it; can't get anything from her. Let's kill her and hurry up and move on."

Getting some answers for future caution is, of course, good. But if not, there's no choice; leaving quickly is the main task.

Who knows if the runaway might summon reinforcements and return?

Just as he was about to rise and strike, the woman unexpectedly withdrew her gaze from the sky, looking toward him.

Lu Xi'an paused his hand and heard the woman say, "Tell me where your Type C Neo-Human is hidden, let him come out and show me, and then give me a swift death. I will answer your questions."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

Yao Wei: "..."

Seems the earlier misjudgment left quite a large shadow on the woman, forming an obsession—to the point where, even in death, she seeks to know where that "hidden Type C Neo-Human" might be concealed.

Lu Xi'an recalled the cries of the Type C Neo-Human under the blanket, carried by the long-legged man at the time, crying, "Quick, find where they're hiding the person."

So, until now, they still believe there's a Type C Neo-Human hidden in the shadows?

—At least, this woman thinks so.

Lu Xi'an said, "You're overthinking; there's no Type C Neo-Human, only the two of us."

"Only the two of you?!"

The woman's voice was incredulous, her tone rising, "Impossible! How is that possible?! Duan is an expert among Type Cs—even if he weren't, without a Type C Neo-Human, it's incomparable to the strength of Type A Neo-Humans.

"We have Duan; if you don't have a Type C, how could you defeat us?"

The sound of vehicle tires rolling over the ground arose, attracting Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's glance southward, their RV was heading towards them from afar.

Gou decided—on whatever judgment—that here lies relative safety, thus controlling the RV to come back.

The road was bumpy and slippery, requiring some time for the RV to arrive, so Lu Xi'an didn't wait, picked up the woman, and asked her, "Do you still want your arms and legs?"

The woman was speechless: "I'm ready to die already, what would I need them for?"

"Oh, that's good then."

Saying this, Lu Xi'an picked up the woman and proceeded with Yao Wei to meet the approaching RV.

Yao Wei pursed her lips, saying nothing. Yet she felt unexplainably that these words, and the present action, ought to be what she'd do.

But now Lu Xi'an had learned it, speaking and doing so naturally.

This woman, carried by Lu Xi'an, seemed quite miserable.

While walking, Lu Xi'an answered the woman's earlier question, "Did you ever consider we might have something else to enhance ourselves?" After all, the woman was about to die, so he didn't mind conversing more.

"Are you talking about the Fungus Stone?"

The woman coldly laughed, "Don't kid, you just obtained that thing recently, right? Of course, we should be clearer on what that thing is."

"What is it?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

The woman said, "You ought to know, that piece of Fungus Stone is what we've been searching for. It appeared once in Yangcai County, and upon discovery, we sought to find it.

"The tide conveniently came in, and we detected the Fungus Stone being washed into the sea, so we couldn't immediately take it.

"Later we detected it drifting east deep into the sea, prompting multiple searches here, yet yielding no success.

"You guys passed here, and we noticed, not intending to bother you.

"Then as the tide receded, we suddenly detected that you had something more inside, confirming your fortune; the Fungus Stone had fallen into your hands.

"That's why, post-retreating tide, judging by your travel trajectory, we came looking for you promptly.

"You've only had that piece of Fungus Stone for a short while; how could it have strengthened you to this level?"

"Moreover, we possess the Fungus Stone too; its potency, we should surely know, right? How could it possibly enhance you to this level? What a joke!"

Simply relying on the Fungus Stone, of course not feasible.

But the problem is, they also have a manual obtained from the 923 Base.

The scientific and efficient training methods in that manual are practically at the level of the Nine Yin True Scripture and Nine Yang Divine Skill secret martial arts manuals, Lu Xi'an had previously sensed it.

Now, after fighting with the enemy, this feeling has become even more certain.

It seems these people from Jiangbei have been lingering around Caiyang Mountain really because of the Fungus Stone.

Or perhaps it was initially just for that pool of water, and later because of the Fungus Stone.

Lu Xi'an asked, "So, do you also have a Resonant Gene Scanner?"

The woman widened her eyes and glanced at Lu Xi'an: "You have one too?!"

It seems they do.

Lu Xi'an immediately confirmed it.

As they spoke, he and Yao Wei were already carrying the woman to the side of the RV.

The RV promptly stopped.

Lu Xi'an opened the door to the rear compartment of the RV, but before he could get in, Yao Wei said, "Don't bring her in, she's filthy."

The wound on the woman's body was still dripping blood, no wonder Yao Wei found it dirty.

Yao Wei's bluntness made the woman's face darken.

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but chuckle, lifting the woman higher so she could see the interior of the vehicle from the door of the compartment.

"See, does it look the same as your Resonant Gene Scanner?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

"The same."

The woman answered sullenly, and then said, "No wonder you could find that Fungus Stone. But if you still want to hide things, don't expect answers to those few questions from me.

"Even if you throw me here and let the mosquitoes and beasts eat me alive, I won't talk."

Lu Xi'an sighed helplessly and said to Yao Wei, "Yao Wei, take it out and let her see."

Yao Wei obediently took out the old Fungus Stone from her belongings, and Lu Xi'an also took out the new Fungus Stone he had obtained from Hu Xiaodong.

The woman's eyes immediately widened.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had already put away their respective Fungus Stones.

"So... it really is Fungus Stone..."

She murmured to herself.

She was now certain that there really were no Type C Neo-Humans here.

Because the information about the number of Neo-Humans here was all derived from the Resonant Gene Scanner.

The Resonant Gene Scanner showed four red dots, previously three, then one more appeared, making four, how could it be fake?

Two Type A Neo-Humans, plus two Fungus Stones, exactly four red dots.

"But just from the Fungus Stone, how could you possibly achieve that?"

She couldn't help but question.

Lu Xi'an knew what she was asking.

This woman still believed that just relying on the Fungus Stone, he and Yao Wei shouldn't have been able to defeat those supported by Type C Neo-Human pheromones.

Lu Xi'an smiled and said, "Because besides the Fungus Stone, we also have a Secret Martial Arts Manual."

"Secret Martial Arts Manual?! What's that?!"

The woman looked puzzled, but quickly became relieved, saying, "Never mind, I don't know what treasure this Secret Martial Arts Manual is, that it's so powerful. But I used to only stay in Jiangbei, occasionally going to Linghai, so it's normal for there to be treasures in the world I don't recognize.

"Sigh, I really didn't expect that I would suffer because of something I didn't know. When Duan used to go out, he told me to go out with him to broaden my horizons, and I should have gone."

Lu Xi'an said, "What's the use? From your previous reaction, he doesn't know either."

Nowadays, besides the 923 Institute, there should be no one who knows, right?

Of course, the manual discovered at the 923 Institute was quite widespread back then, others might also have discovered it, who knows.

Lu Xi'an just hoped this guess was wrong, that this thing existed nowhere else, only at the 923 Institute.

But upon hearing Lu Xi'an's words, the woman was speechless.

After a while, the woman smiled wryly: "Indeed, he doesn't know either. Then it doesn't matter. I can't remember the earlier questions, if you want me to answer, you'll have to ask them again.

"If you have anything to ask, hurry up and ask, so you can send me to my death after."

"Alright."

Lu Xi'an nodded in agreement and said to Yao Wei, "Yao Wei, get in the car first and check the Resonant Gene Scanner, see if you can still spot those two people?"

After Yao Wei got in, she quickly replied to Lu Xi'an: "Very far away, if they go further, they won't appear on the map."

"Hmm, that's good."

Lu Xi'an nodded.

It seems those two ran quite fast, likely on the way, they didn't dare to stop stimulating the man with Type C Neo-Human pheromones.